Wonderful Caricature (Ryden)

VIII

firstly, i want you all to think about ryan ross in pinup drag.

secondly, i want you all to think about ryan ross in a purple suit on a date with dan keyes.

now. i can only show you one of these, but i promise it's cute.

ALSO IF I EVER STOP SCREAMING ABOUT Z'S PROM AND RYAN AT Z'S PROM, ASSUME I'M DEAD.

not that i went or anything (lol. in my dreams.) but my man is out here thriving and living life and that's literally all i could want???

~

"Listen, if you get me drunk enough, I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"Is that a bet?"

Of course not. Alcohol is the worst way to find out someone's secrets, especially mine. Not to mention it's always just a mess. Or rather, I am. I hate getting drunk, so I usually don't try to. I can't remember the last time I was really drunk. Like, blackout drunk. Why? It's probably been years and I've become a lot less rebellious and angry with the world than teenage Ryan who didn't give a damn about a thing except sticking it to the man. I'm still angry at the world, but I'm not actively trying to rebel against it.

"Not really," Besides, I'm drinking water. I know. Shocking. I do things that everyone else in the world has to do. Yeah, I'm not all that special, I just present myself to be, "Just a statement."

"Noted," Physically. Brendon physically wrote that down on his journalist notepad.

In the twenty minutes I've been talking to him, I'm pretty convinced that the whole journalist thing is an excuse to talk to me. By far, not the lamest one anyone's ever used on me, so I'm thankful that he's a little original. Only a little. He's very good at backstories, I'll give him that.

Said he got into journalism in high school because he was a secret poet and some kid stole one of his poems and published it in the school paper. That kid was Sarah, his lady friend, and they've been somewhat inseparable since. I only say 'somewhat' because I haven't seen her since that first night, but he claims he's never seen without her close behind or right next to him. I guess she's around. Then again, he also completely made up the term 'vigilante journalist,' so only he knows if what he's saying is really true or not.

Brendon was lost in his own version of a daydream for a couple seconds before he roped himself back into reality with a beaming smile lighting up his face,  "So, what got you into this drag thing?"

"I couldn't tell you, to be honest," I shake my glass of water and watch the ice cubes carefully shift around and bump into each other. I'm not studying them, but I can't say I'm not paying attention to them, either, "I've always been kind of an odd one out. Like, I never understood why girls got to wear ribbons in their hair and boys had to know a car inside out. I know jack shit about cars, but you'd be shocked at the amount of things I can do with a piece of ribbon."

"Well, I guess there's value in all kinds of skills, huh?" I know he's trying this best to understand, but mostly, he's just pouring on more of this journalist crap. I could really say whatever I want because I know there's a low chance it'll actually be published somewhere, but you can never be too careful.

"I like to think of it as taking an interest in the stranger things in life. My whole life is strange, but still pretty normal. I put on my heels one foot at a time, just like anyone else," I smile at my own stupid joke, but Brendon gets a chuckle out of it. He's a guy who likes to laugh, that's one genuine thing I know about him. He's got incredible laugh lines, and I know I mentioned that when I first properly talked to him, but it's worth repeating. They work so perfectly with his face, just to give it character. He'll smile and everything in his face lights up, too. He likes to be happy and have a good time. I can respect that.